Monday, August 17, 2009

What A Week For "NASCAR Now"

It was a spicy mix of panelists on the Monday edition of NASCAR Now. Boris Said, Ricky Craven and ESPN reporter Angelique Chenglis have mixed it up in the past and did so again this week.

Host Allen Bestwick is great at keeping the flow going and the pace crisp. From the start, all three panelists had different opinions on a variety of topics surrounding the Sprint Cup Series race from MIS.

Chengelis chastised crew chief Alan Gustafson for taking a fuel risk that ultimately cost Mark Martin a lot more than the race win. Said pointed to the fact that Gustafson's big picture should have been The Chase. Craven said the team was right to go for it, having won on fuel mileage in the past.

Said has come a long way this season and thinks before he talks. This has made his opinions a lot easier to swallow. He still maintains his own point of view and often differs with the journalists on the panel. Craven is still the top NASCAR studio analyst on TV and his comments are thoughtful and concise.

The Monday roundtable show has become the foundation from which the NASCAR Now franchise has flourished. During this time of the year, ESPN also adds a late night Sunday wrap-up show to the weekly series. Meanwhile, the weekday shows get a big jump-start this week with a trip to the White House.

After hosting the Tuesday show, Nicole Manske heads off to Washington DC for what may be the best promotion for The Chase that NASCAR has ever planned. President Obama will be meeting with a large group of present and former drivers and NASCAR personalities.

The ESPN contingent includes Dale Jarrett, Rusty Wallace, Marty Smith and Brad Daugherty. These festivities will result in a special one-hour edition of NASCAR Now at 4:30PM on Wednesday. Cable listings do not reflect this schedule change, so viewers who want to record the program may have to do so manually.

ESPN is quick to point out that this is the first regularly scheduled ESPN program to originate from the White House in the thirty year history of the company.

There should be plenty for Manske to discuss when she returns to the air at 5PM on Thursday from the ESPN2 studios. Wednesday night features Whelen Modified and Camping World Truck Series races from the other Bristol. Hopefully, NASCAR Now will open the doors and include highlights from what may be the best race of the year, the mods.

Friday, Manske continues her hosting duties and slips a quick half-hour show in at 7PM after Sprint Cup qualifying and before the Nationwide Series race. Depending on how long qualifying actually takes, Manske may be providing nothing more than a quick update. This show will have to be live.

The NASCAR Now week ends with a very long Saturday. The preview hour airs at a special time of 9AM. Ricky Craven will join Manske on the set while Angelique Chengelis and Marty Smith will report from Bristol, TN. While Craven and Manske head for brunch, ESPN will get ready for the big night race at 6:30PM.

After the race, that whole NASCAR Now gang will be joined by the ESPN announce team as they put together the late night wrap-up show scheduled to air at 9PM Pacific/12AM Eastern on Saturday night. This has proven to be a very good show for fans to record and contains lots of original interviews.

All in all, this is quite a week for NASCAR Now. The Monday show set a great tone, but it will be the White House visit that certainly has the potential to be memorable for a wide variety of reasons.

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I enjoyed the roundtable JD. Im still having trouble taking the opinions of Boris Said seriously though since he is still a "ringer" in my eyes. Sure, he ran a full truck schedule 10 years ago but does that really qualify him as a Cup expert? Completely agree with your sentiments on Craven. AB was spot on, that was wonderful. Still miss him on IWC though, heck I miss that whole cast.

It was refreshing to let the panelists disgaree and interact. A little tension between Angelique and Boris made for entertaining television. And unlike normally, Ricky Craven was the weakest link instead of the strongest. When the other two panelists got into it and dished hardcore opinions, all Ricky Craven could do was offer platitudes and speak in generalities. He actually seemed OVER prepared.

I LOVE THE ESPN ROUNDTABLE ON MONDAY NIGHTS. CRAVEN, BESTWICK ARE AWESOME ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY HAVE EVERNHAM FOR ADDITIONAL INSIGHT. WHO NEEDS THAT JOKE OF A SHOW CALLED THIS WEEK IN NASCAR. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK GUYS!

Craven is always Craven. Put him in a ring with two pit bulls and he'll adjust their collars. Ricky's a thoughtful and insightful guy and he doesn't change much with the circumstances. That's what I like about him. He sees through the noise around him and gets to the meat of things. He's more Spock than Bones.

Having listened to him a lot on the old Sirius "Driver's Seat" show with Kernan I always liked his thoughtful, reasoned comments. I don't expect him to change with the circumstances, nor do I want him to.

NN has grown into a better show than IWC ever was... at least for me. More meat, less Mikey. Don't get me wrong, I loved the cast of loonies back in the day. AB's just brought it up a notch.

When my eyes fixed on the panel, I wasn't excited but I was very pleasantly surprised. Yes... I too loved AC's comment on Kyle's passing speed. I've always liked Boris. Liked him a bit less after his dust up with Marcos but the whole snot blowing contest was a little silly anyway. What's it been, a year? Can we move on now? Boris had his game on tonight. Two visceral types and a voice of reason with AB as ringmaster. I liked it.

My only complaint with NASCAR Now this week is that there were not very many driver interviews. Usually they show a bunch, they showed very few. ESPN usually has all the drivers that matter, even with clips taken after the broadcast was over, and I love on Monday when they play those. There should have been more. Although - the one with Montoya was awesome! He can be just as much of a crybaby as Busch, but with Montoya you actually think he might win a fight, so it sounds better. :) :)

anyone thing that D Despain lurks here with his comments on TWIN about late starting times and long pre-race shows. Items that were posted on this board last three weeks. Like his reply - then don't watch them.

Since you made reference to the Mod race, I'll reiterate that ESPN needs to show off the highlights.

These guys are like any other local racers in the country, scraping to get by with sponsorship deals from local auto body shops - and do they put on one great show, I can only imagine Bristol, TN though they sure need those restrictor plates.

Many of these teams are from w/in two hours of Bristol, CT and with Bestwick, Massaro, Arute, LaJoie, Craven, Park, etc. having northeast roots, I almost expect it from them.

I think this show is getting better by the week. Keep up the good work.

One question I thought would be brought up and wasnt, unless I missed it. Why did the 48 not get penealized for crossing the start finish line when he clearly broke the rule. Not only once but twice, the second time by a clear half car. Am I missing something here?

As usual,AB was his normal, polished and professional self. Sooner or later he'll move up...somewhere. I'm not a fan of AC. My belief is that you could have a Nationwide and a Cup car side by side, painted in primer, and she couldn't tell one from the other. I appreciate Boris' candor. I don't always agree with him,but at least he's a race car driver!